Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) are the foundation of EcoAutonomous organizations. CAS is always looking at how to change its structure and operation to be adaptive to the environment and continuously thrive. The Evolving Function is a necessary function within any Entity (Business Units / Organization unit). This function is dedicated to continually improve the entity to keep it relevant to the everchanging environment.
Below you can find the definition of the default evolving function as defined in the EcoAutonomous guide (Entity = any type of business unit or group. Function = Role. Agent = Associate/employee):
Default Evolving function:
- Purpose: continuously evolving and improving the entity.
- Responsibilities
- Continuously looking for and implementing better ways to operate and design the entity
- Changing entity/function purpose
- Adding, removing Functions
- Adding entities
- Removing the Entity
- Update current Functions and Entities
- Add, change or remove Policy
- Add, change or remove Principle
- Add, change or remove connections and relationship with other entities
- Add, change or remove Artifacts
- Electing Agent to fill Leadership function
- Electing Agent to Fill Emerging function
- Rules and Algorithms the function should follow or expected to follow
- Follow this guide and raise any tension with the guide.
- Verify all requests for the Emerging process are within the defined process
- Notify all Entity’s agents at least 72 hours before setting evolving meeting
- Verify that the request is not breaking any core principles or CAS attributes. If a request is breaking core principles or CAS attributes, The Emerging function should tag the request as not valid and reply back to the requester with an explanation of why the request is not valid.
- Validate the request is new to the current structure, policies, principles, connections, and artifacts. This validation shouldn’t tag as “non-valid” a request that was rejected in the past.
- Validate that request to change an artifact won’t result in the same artifact manage by more than one function.
- Validate that changing function responsibilities won’t end up with the same responsibility assign to two functions or more.
- Connections (internally and externally) with other Functions or Entities
- All functions in the entity or other entities that are part of the entity.
- All Agents filling any function mentioned above
- Measurements or Metrics (no more or less than five) to evaluate function success
- Entity Metrics (should show positive linear or exponential change
- Artifacts managed by the function
- None
- Events the function should react to
- Request to change Entity or Function purpose
- Request for Leader function election
- Request for Emerging function election
- Request to add a new function, function responsibility, entity, policy, principle, relations/connections.
- Request to remove function, function responsibilities, entity, policy, principle, relations/Connections
- Request to change function, function responsibilities, entity, policy, principle, relations/Connections
If someone is not responsible for evolving a group, the group will very fast move into an equilibrium state. This state is a sign of death for any living organism.